Album: The Pipettes, Earth vs the Pipettes (Fortuna Pop)

There's a strong case that Earth vs the Pipettes shouldn't be credited thus, since the once polka-dotted princesses feature no original members (an indie Sugababes, essentially).

On its merits, this is a cracking pop record. Now fronted by the powerful lungs of Gwenno Saunders, the Brighton band, assisted by Martin Rushent (the Human League's Dare), have abandoned 1960s classicism for a more contemporary electro-disco direction. If only they'd come up with a new name to go with it.